On Wednesday the group left at 6.30am to head to Kandy.Most of the journey was spent sleeping, although we had a welcome stop at a bakery for a late breakfast before then arriving at Peradeniya University where we met our friends Jardin and Hungi from Sabaragamuwa University. They had also gone back to their home town, Kandy for the festival so it was great to see them. Our guesthouse was quite a distance from the actual University itself but it was huge and had beautiful architecture from the outside! After a quick freshen up we went to a lovely restaurant for lunch and then went for another quick stop at Jardins house. His mum had prepared tea and sandwiches for us and we were very grateful to her for also reserving our tickets for the Perahara (the elephant festival). We had to be searched before entering the Perahara road but then took our seats, which were in a brilliant location! We had to wait a very long time for the parade to actually start but it was definitely worth it! The parade began with young boys and men with large whips who collected coins thrown from the crowd. Fire throwers and dancers followed and then the elephants came. They were massive and absolutely beautifully dressed in large robes and lights. Altogether there were 5 sections of elephants with more dancers and drummers. The parade lasted just over 2 hours and was brilliant throughout! We were all very tired when we finally arrived back at the guest house but it had been a fantastic and unforgettable experience.